Thermoelectric materials and generators: Research and application

Abstract

As the world strives to meet a huge electricity demand, sustainable energy technologies are attracting significant attentions. Approximately 90% of the power in the world is generated by heat engines that use fossil fuel combustion as a heat source. These engines typically operate at 30–40% efficiency, and around 60% of energy produced by fossil fuel combustion is wasted in the form of heat (Yazawa and Shakouri, 2011; Vieira and Mota, 2009). Waste heat is an untapped major source for sustainable energy.